Thursday, December 02, 2010

I had a design meeting with my book editors recently. My contribution? I brought cookies. They enjoyed the cookies but then I felt guilty. See, I made them cookies but I hadn’t made anything for the blog. And since the cookies I took to the meeting will be in the book, I can’t share them with you until next fall. So I decided to bake another batch of cookies just for you. Yes, I made you pepita-lime crescent cookies.

But before I go into details about these cookies, please let me give you an update on my book. Many of you have been asking about it and I realize that I haven’t said too much since announcing that I was writing one. My apologies—it’s been a hectic few months. Though with my December 31 deadline soon approaching, I can happily say that it’s almost complete.

I’m currently revising the second draft of the manuscript and will return to Texas soon for a final burst of inspiration. But for the most part, I’m pleased with the manuscript and even though the testing was completed two months ago, I’m still cooking from it just because I’m in love with the new recipes. I know, I’m being a tease. My apologies. But when the book is finally published, I believe that you’ll enjoy them, too.

I don’t have a release date yet but I’m pretty sure we’re still on track for next fall. They’re going to start working on the cover soon and I think once that’s finalized it’ll be available for pre-ordering. You can bet that I’ll certainly holler when this happens.
Now that you've been updated about the book, let’s talk about the important stuff—cookies. December is the time for holiday baking, with cookies being the most popular thing to make as they can feed many and are highly portable. Not to mention that cookies can keep for a while, which makes them perfect for both giving as gifts and for sharing with loved ones that drop in to spread holiday cheer.

One of my favorite cookies is a classic almond crescent. If you’ve never had the pleasure, it’s a simple shortbread made rich with ground almonds and a shower of powdered sugar. They’re a cinch to make and yet taste elegant and look festive—just what you want this time of year.

When I set out to make a batch recently, I realized I was out of almonds. I did, however, have a huge bag of pepitas—which are hulled pumpkin seeds—so instead of going to the store for almonds, I decided to see how these crescent cookies would taste with pepitas. I’m glad that I did.

Besides swapping the nuts, I made some other changes to the basic dough as well. For instance, pepitas are often paired with the bright flavor of lime, so I bound my dough with lime juice instead of the usual water. A sprinkle of sea salt, a dash of vanilla and a bit of lime zest also added new life to these crescents. I then got really wild and added a pinch of ground cumin. I have to admit, however, that last flourish wasn’t as well received. No matter, these cookies are darn good and I didn’t miss the almonds at all. And if you’re a fan of pepitas, I think that you’ll like this variation as well.

Now please excuse me, but I need to return to my manuscript. Fortunately, I’ll have a plate of these pepita-lime crescents and a glass of milk to keep me energized. But enough about me—now that we’re into the season of cookie exchanges and holiday visitations, what are you baking?

Method:
In an ungreased skillet, on medium heat cook the pepita seeds while occasionally stirring for 5 minutes until slightly darker and fragrant. (If your pepitas are salted and roasted, skip this step.) Place the pepitas in a blender or food processor and pulse until ground to the texture of rough cornmeal (be careful when doing this, if you grind them for too long it will turn into pepita butter).

Cream together the butter and the sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the lime juice, 1 teaspoon of lime zest, vanilla, flour, sea salt and the ground pepitas. Mix until well combined. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Once the dough has cooled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. To form the cookies, take 1 tablespoon’s worth of dough, form it into a ball and then roll it into a 3-inch-long log. Bend it in the center to form a crescent. The cookies don’t spread much, so you only need 1/2 an inch or so between them on the sheet. Bake the crescents for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. They will still be soft when they come out of the oven but will harden as they cool.

While the cookies are baking, combine the powdered sugar with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of lime zest. You can do this in a food processor if you want the lime zest extra fine or just stir the zest into the sugar. Once the cookies are done, cool on a rack for 10 minutes and then roll the crescents in the powdered sugar.

Cookies will keep in an airtight container for a week. They can be delicate, so handle with a bit of care.

I am really excited about your book progress - but bummed at having to wait for a Fall release.

The cookies look tempting, and serve to remind me that it IS cookie season. I think I'll begin with rugelach and biscotti and then play with some new nutty recipes, including pepita-lime-crescents of course.

OH YAY !! So excited to hear about your cookbook. Fall will be here before we know it. Your cookies sound out of this world and I can't wait to try the recipe. Your grandma's chocolate pie was on my Thanksgiving table last week. Needless to say, I should have made about 4 of them with all the grandkids I had running around.Much love and good wishes, Brenda

So here I am, lamenting the fact that I'm drinking coffee and have nothing sweet to eat with it. Wish I was digging into these instead of just gaping at boring old... air. Think Christmas has done a doozy on me this year because suddenly I'm craving cookies all the time.

Buena suerte with the manuscript! Sending you lots of creative, good-writing vibes.

I'm so excited for your book. I hope it's full of photographs, you take such great shots!

Last winter I was graving chocolate covered cherries but wanted them in cookie form. I modified a sugar cookie recipe, tweaked the butter, added almond extract instead of the usual vanilla and dried cherries. I rolled the dough in toasted almonds before baking and then drizzled the cooled cookies with melted chocolate. I'm about ready to fire these puppies up again soon.

I'm finishing a quilt for Christmas this weekend, but after that I'll turn to baking. All I'm really interested in this year is spritz cookies, since I bought an electric gun and want to fire up the production line. I really love lime in cookies, so maybe some of these will need some lime extract (which I have only ever located at a cake decorating store). If I have time, I may also use the spritz gun to make some cheese straws, too.

Woo hoo! Thanks for taking a break to update us about the cookbook...sooo excited for it!

I've been feeling nostalgic enough that I might try making my mom's gingerbread cookie recipe, including a house. She was an artist with gingerbread, so it's a bit daunting, but so many good memories are wrapped up in it that I think I will give it a try.

And I had been thinking about pecan sandies, but now it might have to be these pepita lime darlins.

Those cookies sound tasty and unusual. Hopefully someone I know will make some to share since I too hung up making tamales after your last blog.

I can't wait for your book to come out; not that I mind the free recipes you've been sharing for so long, ;-) I know your book will make a great addition to my library since everything you've already shared has been wonderful.

These sound so interesting (as with most of the recipes here). I just wanted to comment and let you know how much I've enjoyed seeing your passion and appreciation for the Texas culture. It's really cool to here the stories and history behind the recipes which intensifies the meaning and significance of the meal. Thanks! :)

Made these yesterday for a finger-food themed dinner party. Much ado was made. Light and crisp, the lime and powdered sugar paired nicely with the nutty pepitas for a unique treat. Thanks for the inspiration!

Hi Lisa,I just wanted to say that I love your writing and your recipes. These cookies sounded so good that I made them right after reading your post and have even blogged about them. I hope that's OK with you. (Link to my entry is here, I referred to your post: http://www.crazyradishes.com/2010/12/pumpkin-seed-lime-cookies.html ) I cannot wait to read your book - even though I've never even been to Texas, your words always evoke such a vivid picture of the food that I'm sure the book will be amazing.

I have learned so much from your blog that you can darn well bet I'm in line to buy your book. Excited, too! Your Green Chile Bake with Posole completely blew me away; honest to Pete, I crave it. I don't know why, but I was always a bit scared of posole. Not any more!

Excited! I just fired these up with the pepitas roasted in a nice chipotle powder I got at the farmer's market, for my Santa that gave me homemade tamales. This same magical Santa gave me a tip for cutting traditional shortbread - instead of rolling flat roll the dough into a square log and "slice" off each cookie. Such a time saver!

This cookie won our annual (friendly family) cookie throwdown by a landslide!! The cookie is crisp, delicate, buttery, crunchy with a hint of lime and sweetness -- no one can guess the secret crispy ingredient is toasted pepita seeds!! A definite winner!

Anon--While I've never frozen the cookie dough, I reckon you could. Likewise, I've never frozen the cookies either but I'm sure you could do that, too. For both, I'd say a month or so in the freezer would be enough, though if well sealed then 2 or 3 should be fine, though they could get a little freezer burn.